Just One Day by Gayle Forman review

A breathtaking journey toward self-discovery and true love, from the author of If I Stay.

When sheltered American good girl Allyson "LuLu" Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.

Just One Day is the first in a sweepingly romantic duet of novels. Willem’s story—Just One Year—is coming soon!

From Goodreads

86,400 seconds, 1,440 minutes, 24 hours. No matter how you define it, just one day can make a world of difference. Allyson "LuLu" Healey knows this all too well. After a whirlwind, although underwhelming, guided tour of some of Europe's most well-known tourist spots she is tired of always following the path of least resistance. She catches the eye of Willem, a dashing Dutch nomad while he is acting in a traveling Shakespeare performance troupe. 

Their chance encounter turns into a one day trip to Paris where everything Allyson has ever thought to be true is challenged. Most of all is her definition and expectations of love.

This was an incredibly moving novel. Gayle Forman's other books have been on my TBR (to be read) list for a long time and having started with this one I think I will always look forward to her work. Part romance and part self-discovery, Just One Day takes as much as it gives to the reader. The first 1/3 of the book takes place in just a few short days encompassing the end of the European tour and the monumental day in Paris. The rest of the novel examines Allyson's emotional recovery from that encounter. By pretending to be LuLu with Willem, what she's really doing is trying on another life. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your outlook, it took her "living" as this other entity to realize just how much she disliked her planned out life. 

I think this book speaks volumes about just how important it is to really examine your life. The main character is barely 18 and just really starting a life that she is already miserable in. Willem isn't too much older, and while not wildly enamored, he does seem to enjoy most of his life either. These two are like a study in contrasts. Willem is content with his life situation but in a way it seems he is really just running from something. Allyson on the other hand is miserable (but doesn't actually realize it) and is running towards an unacknowledged goal.

The writing style is very fluid and rich with references to Shakespeare. I personally love all the characters that you encounter. This is one of those books where you have a few main characters, but you really feel like the supporting characters are the ones who help carry the story. They are just as important as the settings. 

I will say this though, there needed to be a closer eye on editing. There were quite a few obvious errors and extra words that a thorough reading would have caught. I know that's nitpicky, but it was really the only fault I could find with the book. Everything else was just as it should have been.

I hope you decide to pick this book up. My reading habits of late have been colored by my wanderlust and this was just the ticket to help ease that desire. Even better? The companion novel Just One Year from Willem's point of view is due out in October of this year. I can't wait!

Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols review

A sexy and poignant romantic tale of a young daredevil pilot caught between two brothers.

High school senior Leah Jones loves nothing more than flying. While she’s in the air, it’s easy to forget life with her absentee mother at the low-rent end of a South Carolina beach town. When her flight instructor, Mr. Hall, hires her to fly for his banner advertising business, she sees it as her ticket out of the trailer park. And when he dies suddenly, she’s afraid her flying career is gone forever.    

But Mr. Hall’s teenage sons, golden boy Alec and adrenaline junkie Grayson, are determined to keep the banner planes flying. Though Leah has crushed on Grayson for years, she’s leery of getting involved in what now seems like a doomed business — until Grayson betrays her by digging up her most damning secret. Holding it over her head, he forces her to fly for secret reasons of his own, reasons involving Alec. Now Leah finds herself drawn into a battle between brothers — and the consequences could be deadly.

From Goodreads

I can't do any better a job of summarizing the book than the blurb itself. Usually I like to throw my own view in because I don't think the blurb does the storyline much justice, but this one pretty much takes the cake.

Jennifer Echols has managed to capture my heart the same way these banner-flying crazies catch their banners. This woman has an amazing ability to take a basic plot (girl from wrong side of tracks stuck between 2 brothers) and make it into some extraordinary! The background that she set this book in is what really gives the story its extra oomph. How many girls are engrossed in airplane knowledge? Not many, but Echols makes this semi-closed off world accessible with just the right amount of detail that the reader is comfortable without being overwhelmed. 


I adore Leah in this book. She's the best Cinderella story I've read in a long time. Despite all the shortcomings of her upbringing & how hard life has been made for her, she has persevered & found something special. That is a rare quality of character that this world is lacking & I am beyond thrilled that Echols has made her so accessible as a role model. Leah is far from perfect, but she's still struggling & doing her best to do what's right for her.


The Hall brothers make quite an impression as well. Neither of them really fit a stereotypical "bad boy" or "sensitive boy" role, but you can see qualities from several types in each of them.It was also a lot of fun getting to know them via other people. You don't necessary learn much about them from the boys themselves, more from their actions & the thoughts of others. Personally I find Grayson more attractive, but that's because I need someone who can deal with my acerbic wit.


In short, this is a great read that takes no time at all to get lost in. A wonderful story about perseverance, dreams & the ability to trust, Such a Rush is the perfect summer read!

ARC graciously provided by Around the World Tours.

Hooked by Catherine Greenman review

Thea Galehouse has always known how to take care of herself. With a flighty club-owner mom and a standoffish, recovering-alcoholic dad, Thea has made her own way in her hometown of New York, attending the prestigious and competitive Stuyvesant High School. But one chat with Will, a handsome and witty senior, and she's a goner—completely hooked on him and unable to concentrate on anything else.

Always worried that she loves Will more than he loves her, Thea is pleasantly surprised when their romance weathers his move to college and Will goes out of his way to involve her in his life. But then, Thea misses a period. And that starts Thea and Will on a wild ride that neither of them could have possibly prepared for. When they decide to keep the baby, their concerned parents chip in what they can to keep Will in school and give both teenagers a comfortable place to raise their child. But when a freak accident leaves Thea shaken and threatens to upend their little family altogether, Thea is forced to turn to the last place she would have chosen for comfort: her stiff, uncompromising father.

From Goodreads

Thea Galehouse is one of those lucky girls who gets to keep her dreamy boyfriend even after he goes to college. She's not so lucky in that her mother is sexually-explicit with her, while ignoring the majority of her shenanigans & her father has been predominately absent from her life despite having a loud opinion about it. Will & Thea seem like such a good fit & I have a feeling that they might have gone the distance if they hadn't got caught up in it all.

When Thea chooses to have the baby (while simultaneously lying to everyone about getting an abortion) she effectively sets herself up for everything else that happens to her. While that may sound obvious, I believe that some things might not have happened to her (both good & bad) had she not chosen to keep the baby. This book definitely does not sugar coat the reality of teenage parenthood, but I also don't think that this is necessarily most girls' experiences. I think they'll be able to relate to Thea in ways that other readers can't & I think that is a really positive selling point to the book.

I didn't find anything so glaringly obvious at fault with this book. Personally I enjoyed the crocheting metaphors throughout the book & how this simple hobby helps Thea through some dark times. The wonkiest thing about this book had to be Thea's mother. A former adult nightclub owner, she is emotionally distant & wants to be Thea's friend more than anything else. I think this really helped contribute to Thea's predicament, but not so much that it was obvious that this kind of thing was going to happen to her.

A tender-hearted read, Hooked is a phenomenal book that allows us a glimpse at what could be for many girls.

North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley review

As he continued to stare, I wanted to point to my cheek and remind him, But you were the one who wanted this, remember? You're the one who asked-and I repeat-Why not fix your face?
It's hard not to notice Terra Cooper.
She's tall, blond, and has an enviable body. But with one turn of her cheek, all people notice is her unmistakably "flawed" face. Terra secretly plans to leave her stifling small town in the Northwest and escape to an East Coast college, but gets pushed off-course by her controlling father. When an unexpected collision puts Terra directly in Jacob's path, the handsome but quirky Goth boy immediately challenges her assumptions about herself and her life, and she is forced in yet another direction. With her carefully laid plans disrupted, will Terra be able to find her true path?
From Goodreads
Terra Cooper is the youngest child (and only daughter) of a former world-famous cartographer. Now the laughing stock of the cartographic world, her father takes his personal anguish out on everyone in his life. Terra has always been a blight in his world because of the port wine birthmark that covers a good majority of her face. Disallowing her from making her own choices in her life has simply made Terra's choices easier. Just as her two older brothers have done she intends to leave their home & never look back. That is until she literally runs into Jacob on her way back from a procedure on her face. He sees her for who she really is & who she can be & helps to inspire her to look beyond what she's carefully laid out in her life.
Justina Chen Headley deserves a big hats-off for this phenomenal book about accepting & creating yourself. Terra is such a versatile character. While she's pretty, with a popular boyfriend & decent grades, she's also introverted, artistic & self-conscious. She is every teen girl wrapped into one. I found her very appealing & sympathetic. Watching her grow & become inspired/learn from others' mistakes around her was such a thrilling part of the book.
Jacob adds a twist in the tale as the devil's advocate to almost everything Terra says & does. He's always pushing her, but at the same time allowing her to do things herself. He is also a different facet of what Terra could be. Jacob has encountered some of the same issues that Terra currently faces & he proves to her that there is a different way to handle the situation.
There is a lot of character development & cartographic references that might not appeal to all readers, but I really enjoyed those parts. Justina seems to have a knack for allowing a story to flow while still giving it a needed structure. While I felt like I wanted to know more about some of the peripheral characters, I realized that it would have detracted from the overall story. So if you're looking for an inspiring, realistic fiction you can't do any better than this book.

Stolen: A Letter to my Captor by Lucy Christopher review

Sixteen year old Gemma is kidnapped from Bangkok airport and taken to the Australian Outback. This wild and desolate landscape becomes almost a character in the book, so vividly is it described. Ty, her captor, is no stereotype. He is young, fit and completely gorgeous. This new life in the wilderness has been years in the planning. He loves only her, wants only her. Under the hot glare of the Australian sun, cut off from the world outside, can the force of his love make Gemma love him back? The story takes the form of a letter, written by Gemma to Ty, reflecting on those strange and disturbing months in the outback. Months when the lines between love and obsession, and love and dependency, blur until they don't exist - almost.

From Goodreads

Stolen from an airport seems like a headline you would see for a small child, not for a late teenager. Unfortunately for Gemma that is her current reality. While "vacationing" with her parents, Gemma is whisked away by a ruggedly handsome young fellow through deceit & drugs. When she finally comes to, she finds herself locked in a bedroom in the middle of nowhere. And we're not talking "middle of the forest" nowhere, we're talking "in the outback of Australia with nothing but sand dunes & rocks" nowhere. Immediately she begins to freak out about what he might have done to her or might still do to her.

Gemma's not completely stupid; she's seen enough television & movies to know that the bad guy always has a plan for his captive, the police are probably looking for her, & her parents are worried sick. What she didn't know is that her captor has a name, Ty, the police are quickly losing any & all hope on her trail & Ty questions her parents' care. While she continually resents Ty, tries to escape (think outside the box on the word "escape"), she does start to come to terms with her imprisonment. While he is still odd, Ty never tries to hurt her & cares for her to the best of his abilities. He's built the whole set up, just for her.

Such a terrifying & jarring story, Stolen is told from Gemma's point-of-view in the form of a letter to Ty. We see the whole thing through her eyes, including her perception of Ty & his behavior. What I feel is lacking is more of Ty's input. I know it's part of his characterization to be stand-offish & withholding information, but I kind of wish we could have known more about him.

I wouldn't consider this a "must read" but definitely a "should read" because I did enjoy the book. The style lends itself well to the story & I actually found myself being absorbed in it all. Give it a shot if you like a more unsettling story.

What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen

Mclean Sweet isn't who she thinks she is. Or rather, she doesn't know who to believe she is. While growing up in the back of a restaurant with a die-hard basketball-loving dad & a beach-tripping manager mother, she knew that she was Mclean Sweet, daughter of college sweethearts & an all-around fun-loving girl. After a bitter and very public divorce, Mclean hits the road with her dad chasing jobs rehabbing restaurants. In the 2 years since the meltdown, Mclean & her dad have moved 4 times allowing 4 alter-egos to crop up.

In each of the 4 towns they lived in, Mclean was always responsible for setting up home & managing a fine balance of cut-and-run technique. Each town gave birth to a new girl & a persona to go with it. She's been a cheerleader, a drama queen & a joiner, but the last thing she expected to become in this new town was herself. With the help of a stellar cast of friends, Mclean Sweet might just rediscover the part of her that never really left.

This was different...and I'm not sure how I really feel about it. I am definitely sure that I've liked her other stuff better, but this wasn't a bad book. Mclean really pulls at that part of everyone who (at least once in their life) wants to pack up & become someone new. Unfortunately I couldn't really relate to that part of her or the fact that she hid it from her family. Her secrecy felt very deceitful & selfish in a way that my brain just couldn't keep up with. Each girl was so radically different.

The new friends she makes & what she discovers about herself as a result are what make the book a really great read. Dave is such a mysterious & quirky guy that you can't help but love. The other teens are all over the place allowing for a real breadth as well as depth to the group dynamics. The most entertaining part though was the kitchen staff at the new restaurant. They were by far the life & light of the story. I could almost see each teen becoming one of the staff members in a way that allowed for fascinating dynamics.

If you're in the mood for a relatively light read, go ahead & pick this one up. I will have to warn you though, if you have issues with improper grammar & errors in a finished book, then this is dangerous territory. I think the editing step was rushed because there are far too many noticeable errors. Other than that it was peachy!

Are you planning on reading it? If you've already read it, how do you react to it? Let's hear your thoughts!

Fallout by Ellen Hopkins

Fallout picks up about 18 years after the end of Glass. Kristina is older and has continued her bad habits. So much so that she now has 5 children: Hunter, Autumn, Summer, Donald, and David. This book is told from the alternating point of view of her three oldest children.

Hunter was just an infant when we last saw him, but now he is a 19 year old young man. Raised by Kristina's mother and step-father, he has had a decent life and is currently a radio personality on a local radio station. He's living with his girlfriend and trying to keep his eye on the prize, but he does dabble in weed & other extra-curricular fun. His tumultuous relationship with his birth mother is actual something that gets him into trouble with his girlfriend and alters his future.

Autumn was born of Kristina's relationship with Trey and was given to his father & sister when both of Autumn's parents went to prison. Autumn is a serious teen with OCD & very little social skills. It's always just been her, her aunt, and her grandfather. She's never really branched out much, until Bryce showed up. The new guy in school takes an interest in her like no one else ever has and with her aunt moving on with her life, Autumn will take any kind of attention she can get, at any cost.

Summer was given up by Kristina to the foster system. Having bounced from home to home, she's never really gotten close to anyone. Even her boyfriend Matt is at a distance. All that changes when Matt's best friend confesses his love for her and they start dating. Despite Summer's bouncing from foster home to living with her dad and back into a foster home, they cling to one another. Kyle flirts with the monster, but is determined to keep Summer clean, but when Summer is moved into a foster home far away, this young couple decides to take matters into their own hands.

Three stories, three lives set on their course by their mother's monster addiction.

Fallout is a masterpiece, plain and simple. The format, as always, is poetry and prose, but this time (like in Tricks) it's told in the alternating viewpoints of three individuals. They all have their own tone and their own stories to tell. Each one is unique in that they all had very different experiences as a result of their mother's actions. Their lives are altered by her initial actions. They share feelings of abandonment, resentment, and anger, but each of them focuses more on one of the feelings than the other.

Hunter, Autumn, and Summer, despite their best efforts, all find themselves in a similar situation as Kristina was once in, relating to their own lives. She may not have a significant presence in their existences, but she has certainly laid the foundation for their future behavior. What I really enjoyed reading about was each child's revelation that their mother's life is not their own life. They can be themselves without comparing every action to Kristina's previous actions.

I have to say that I think this is my favorite of her books so far. Burned is a very close second, but it is a definite second. I felt like there was closure with this book and that there is hope for all those involved. A job well done. Enjoy!

Glass by Ellen Hopkins

Hello all! Life caught up with me, but I'm back on track and hoping to get a multitude of posts rolling here soon. Stick with me and you won't be disappointed!

In Glass we pick up a few months after the end of Crank. Kristina is holding on tight to her reality. She's cleaned up, is raising her son Hunter at home with her mom & step-dad's help, and is working towards obtaining her GED. Unfortunately it's too much for Kristina. She wants some independence and considering how much of her parents' trust she lost, that's not so easy to come by. Yet she manages to score a job at the local 7-11 and that allows her some limited freedom.

Soon though, it's too much for Kristina and she starts using the monster again. At first it's just to pep up and keep up with the demands of motherhood, but soon it turns into something she can't function without. With her usage up, she starts hanging out with the wrong kind of guys and is soon booted from her home when her mother figures out that she's using. While living with her dealer she becomes entangled in a three-way love affair and falls deeper into the drug world. Scrambling to make her world work, Kristina is left with few options. What depths will she sink to in order to continue on her walk with the monster?

The second installment is nothing short of astounding. Glass continues the nightmarish world that Kristina lives and breathes in. I was really hoping that she would be able to pull it together in this installment, although I figured she'd fall apart again. I was mesmerized by her justifications and excuses for her drug use and behavior. It was almost convincing when she said "just to get me going in the morning" or "just to lose a few pounds." I found myself almost thinking, "well if it's just a little, that won't hurt too much." I think the way it is written really lends itself to helping the reader understand just how easy it is to relapse into former bad habits.

Ellen continues her amazing ability to tell a story through poetry and prose in a tantalizing manor. I devoured this book in just a day or two despite it's length (688 pages) because the writing was so accessible! I really enjoyed getting to see Kristina's interactions with other drug users and dealers because I think it reinforced her actions. There were people just as misguided as her and they seemed to feed off of each others' actions.

If you've read Crank then you need to read Glass so that you can understand where we stand when you pick up the third, and final, installment in the series Fallout which comes out in late September of this year.

Waiting on Wednesday: Caleb + Kate

Waiting on Wednesday recognizes that we as bookies pine for books. This post is about what I am impatiently waiting for right now. It was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week's selection is Caleb + Kate by Cindy Martinusen-Coloma and is set to be released May 4, 2010 by Thomas Nelson.

Private school, rich friends, vacations in France--Kate has it all, except a belief in love.

When Kate's family purchases a hotel in the Pacific Northwest, she enters a world that is wholly unknown to her. She never has any privacy because of the constant flow of guests. And as the hotel owner's daughter, she struggles to make friends.

Then she meets Caleb, a strange combination of working-class, Hawaiian culture, and Christian bad boy. He talks about love in an all new way that she finds so alluring. But the two have nothing in common. He rarely smiles, rides a motorcycle with a rough crowd from town, and worst of all, he totally ignores Kate. But Kate has something that he needs and she resolves to prove to him that what she has doesn't define who she is.

From Goodreads

I always say I don't like romances and yet so many of them draw me in! I think it's the way many of them are portrayed. The love story is kind of in the background building up while they deal with one another. It reminds me of the Simone Elkeles books I love so much like Perfect Chemistry and Leaving Paradise. Kate sounds like a pompous brat, but hopefully that will be tamed by the fiery and fiestiness of Caleb. Woot for more realistic fiction!

So what are you waiting on?

Border Crossing by Jessica Lee Anderson

The mixed-race son of apple pickers, Manz lives with his hard-drinking mother and her truck-driver boyfriend in the hardscrabble world of dusty Rockhill, Texas. Forced to take a summer job rebuilding fence of a cattle ranch, Manz works alongside his friend Jed and meets a girl named Vanessa — but even among his friends, Manz suffers from an uncontrollable paranoia. As the summer wears on, Manz becomes convinced that "Operation Wetback," a brutal postwar relocation program, is being put back into effect. As the voices in his head grow louder and more insistent, Manz struggles to negotiate the difficulties of adolescence, the perils of an oppressed environment, and the terror of losing his grip on reality.

From Goodreads

There was no better way to sum up this book than with that blurb. I tried for quite a while to write a better summary, but this one was much more concise and clear than anything I had written.

In short, this book was marvelous!! I found myself absolutely mesmerized by Manz's thought process; it just drew me in completely. We meet him and jump right into the thick of his confusing life with a withdrawn alcoholic mother, who ends up being more like a child than Manz. His mostly absent, truck-driving step-father is a sight for sore eyes, providing tension relief at just the right time; but it's not enough to keep Manz firmly planted in the here and now.

As the story moves along, the author acknowledges that no one can make it through this tough a situation alone by introducing Manz's best friend Jed and his romantic interest Vanessa. While he tries desperately to hide his deteriorating condition, Jed and Vanessa just seem even more drawn to him. Not surprisingly, Manz has a difficult time accepting their help, support, and friendship as his paranoia becomes more and more severe. The author really captured the complexity of this situation while maintaining an easy to follow storyline. There wasn't too much going on at once to where you are confused, but there is enough going on that it keeps your attention. The realism in this book is astounding and the author deserves HUGE props for accurately portraying the reactions of the characters to the situations that they face. I HIGHLY recommend that if you like the raw, grittiness of Ellen Hopkins that you give this a try. It's not as harsh, but still truly amazing.

Are you planning on picking it up?

Waiting on Wednesday: Albatross

Waiting on Wednesday recognizes that we as bookies pine for books. This post is about what I am impatiently waiting for right now. It was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Today's book is Albatross by Josie Bloss and is set to be released on February 1, 2010.

What's so cool about nice guys?

Everyone at Tess's new school warns her that Micah is bad news—a heartbreaker. But she can't ignore her attraction to this brooding, brilliant, friendless emo hottie who can turn on the charm—or heart-shredding scorn—at a moment's notice. Starting over in a new town after her parents' split isn't easy for Tess, and Micah feels like her first real connection. But what happens when their bond suddenly feels like shackles? And Micah starts to remind Tess of her freakishly controlling father?

From Goodreads

So, this sounds absolutely enthralling. I found the father/boyfriend dynamic mentioned in the summary attractive. There is an old saying that "girls want to date boys who remind them of their fathers" and I am wondering if this book will analyze that aspect. I don't want to go all Freudian with it or read too much into it before I actually get to read the book, but I think it will be fascinating to watch unfold.